It’s been 30 years plus since noted Barbara Bates established her designs in the world of fashion. Seventeen of those years she has spent making prom dresses for Chicago high school students and the last five years raising over $500K for breast cancer awareness and education. Recently Barbara Bates got to stand on the sidelines and see what she has wrought at “30 Years of Bates,” a fashion show commemorating the anniversary of Barbara Bates Designs (BBD).

The fashion show raised funds for The Barbara Bates Foundation’s signature charities. The runway event was held at the Bridgeport Art Center before Thanksgiving, drawing over 500 people who came out to celebrate both Bates and the Foundation. Famed R&B singer BeBe Winans, as a personal friend of Bates graced the lavish event with a special performance. Not to be outdone returning for the third year was comedian Sinbad, who co-hosted the evening with Deborah Crable. Sinbad has been a supporter of Bates “Knocking Out Breast Cancer since the beginning. Both his mother and two younger sisters are survivors.

No stranger to breast cancer,Sinbad has been a supporter of Bates “Knocking Out Breast Cancer” since the beginning. Both his mother and two younger sisters are survivors.

Barbara Bates usually at the helmorganizing and orchestrating her events sat this one out, “It was wonderful to stand on the sidelines and see the show the way the audience does,” says Bates. “Sometimes you want to have that wonder and be awed by the show.” And the crowd was awed as they took in Bates signature couture designs on the runway models that included leather, lace, feathers and neoprene, but they were also moved to see the survivors wear vintage Bates Designs and the students model prom attire.

This year 15 students received outfitsfrom the Bates Foundation, and a portion of the proceeds from the anniversary event will be used for prom attire in 2017. The Barbara Bates Foundation Breast Wellness Center at Sinai Health System, which is now under construction and expected to open soon, will also receive a portion of the proceeds. To date the Foundation has donated more than $515K to Mt. Sinai to support breast cancer education efforts targeted to women of color.

As always the show did not disappoint as the crowd was wooed as they were romanced by the Bates signature couture designs. The models walked the runway showcasing leather, lace, feathers and neoprene. More breathtaking were the survivors who wore vintage Bates Designs and the students model prom attire.

This year 15 students received outfits from the Bates Foundation, and a portion of the proceeds from the anniversary event will be used for prom attire in 2017. The Barbara Bates Foundation Breast Wellness Center at Sinai Health System, which is now under construction and expected to open soon, will also receive a portion of the proceeds. To date the Foundation has donated more than $515K to Mt. Sinai to support breast cancer education efforts targeted to women of color. Items from the runway show are now available for purchase at her shop located at 2031 S. Indiana.

This year 15 students received outfits from the Bates Foundation, and a portion of the proceeds from the anniversary event will be used for prom attire in 2017. The Barbara Bates Foundation Breast Wellness Center at Sinai Health System, which is now under construction and expected to open soon, will also receive a portion of the proceeds. To date the Foundation has donated more than $515K to Mt. Sinai to support breast cancer education efforts targeted to women of color.

Co-Chairs of the event were Toi Salter, Salter Financial Management, Spencer Leak, Jr., of Leak & Son Funeral Homes and Cook County Commissioner Robert Steele. Bates extends her heartfelt thanks to a number of companies, groups and individuals who stepped up to make the event happen, including BMO Harris, Hyatt, Ticket for the Cure and Namaste Laboratories, LLC. Most importantly she thanks her loyal customers. “Without them, there would be no 30-year anniversary,” Bates concludes.

Items from the runway show are now available for purchase at her shop located at 2031 S. Indiana.

As her fashion brand continues to grow, Bates is transitioning her custom operation to a ready-to-wear retail outlet. Loyal customers will still be able to request custom orders.

ABOUT THE BARBARA BATES FOUNDATION

Founded in 1999, the Barbara Bates Foundation is a philanthropic organization with a mission to raise funds for educating African American and Latino women on the early detection and treatment of breast cancer and to provide formal wear donations to inner-city high school students with difficult circumstances. http://www.barbarabatesfoundation.org

The Republic is Still in Danger

“If you’re honest, you will admit that Donald Trump acts more like an overgrown preteen who is not quite sure of who he wants to be.”

“What we have here is a failure to communicate,” a line from the film “Cool Hand Luke,” speaks volumes now that we have a president-elect who exhibits behavior that, if not attributed to him, would be considered at best erratic; however, he is the elected soon-to-be leader of America and has stature based on his wealth and visibility, mainly resulting from his reality television show persona, lawsuits, messy marriages, divorces and his tendency toward gaudiness.

You know the adage “You can take the boy out of the country but not the country out of the boy.” So I’m warning you that the president-elect’s erratic personality will not get better.

If you’re honest, you willadmit that he acts more like an overgrown preteen who is not quite sure of who he wants to be, allowing his ego’s lust for attention and acceptance to lead him at all times. He’s a crowd pleaser and will do whatever he has to do to get the applause.

So on Nov. 23, before Thanksgiving, the president-elect sat down with the New York Times, America’s most prominent mainstream newspaper, which he had made glaring insults about throughout his presidential campaign that were short of being blasphemous. He expressed himself in his usual unconventional manner.

Trump began with, “Well, I just appreciate the meeting and I have great respect for the New York Times. Tremendous respect. It’s very special. Always has been very special.”

So like him to flip flop!

Trump was unapologetic about openly ignoring the tradition of convention or standards set by presidents, that reflect ethical and political conventions.

Conflicts of Interest

Trump, speaking from his personal interpretation of what is legal, what is right or what simply is, said he had no legal obligation to establish boundaries between his business empire and his White House, conceding that the Trump brand “is certainly a hotter brand than it was before.” Still, he said he would try to figure out a way to insulate himself from his businesses, which would be run by his children.

This should be seen as contempt for all that has been tried and proven to be a correct line of behaviors to protect the interests of the executive office and the country. It is dangerous to allow this bully to do whatever he wants because as his colleague Paul Ryan puts it, “he won the election.”So that makes him above the law? Really. You see this is how white men have a tendency to think. Trump is now the leader of the pack because he threw down and won, so now all have to get in line if they wish to remain a part of the winning team.

Beware, Republicans, you’ve beendown this rabbit hole before. They allowed Nixon to interfere where he should not have, and gave him carte blanche, which led to his eventual demise.

Trump had the audacity to defendcabinet pick Stephen K. Bannon as chief strategist, against charges of racism, calling him a “decent guy.” And he mocked Republicans who had failed to support him in his unorthodox presidential campaign.

Listen, people, all the Republicanswho want to land on Trump’s best side say the same crap, essentially “that the Bannon described in the media is not the Bannon they know.” So screw that, we’re talking about the Bannon who Steve Bannon himself wanted us to know. The man who as recently as this summer called Breitbart News, the website he led, “the platform for the alt-right,” a white nationalist movement. How about that?

You feeling me?

Trump exuberated his overzealous sense of confidence even tough he admitted that he is awed by his new job. “It is a very overwhelming job, but I’m not overwhelmed by it,” he said.

Spoken so true to form.He’s not overwhelmed because he doesn’t take it seriously. Not really. To date, he still isn’t participating in the review of the presidential daily briefings (the same ones President Obama receives) because . . . he knows more than the generals.

His statements about the rhetoric he used to reel in the suffering populace were conflicted and, at best, those of a preteen, betwixt by whether it serves him well to be adamant about those positions stated during the campaign, or not now that he won the election.

So he reiterated that he had nointerest in pressing for Hillary Clinton’s prosecution over her use of a private email server or for financial acts committed by the Clinton Foundation, which he had recently announced after his win, shocking many who had chanted, “Lock her up, Lock her up,” led by him at rallies around the country. “I don’t want to hurt the Clintons, I really don’t,” he said.

Look, I could go on and on, but let me say this. First, he has no authority to press prosecution, and to attempt to would lead him straight to impeachment. So his seeming act of forgiveness is merely a move to save his own behind.

Further, what we need to know is that Trump played the populace, selling them populism and what they’ve got is a plutocracy– a government ruled by the wealthy.

Our responsibility, if we believe in the democracy that this country was, is to recognize that the republic is still in danger and that we cannot afford to accept any of Trump’s missteps to step around what has been tradition and conventional protocol as normal. It is not.

The Electoral College has the final say when it comes to presidential elections, and if the majority of the electors vote against Donald Trump, his position as President-elect will be revoked.

Republican elector, Christopher Suprun, is going against the grain and will not cast his vote for Trump when the Electoral College casts their ballots for president on December 19th.

In a New York Times op-ed, Suprun wrote: I am a Republican presidential elector, one of the 538 people asked to choose officially the president of the United States. Since the election, people have asked me to change my vote based on policy disagreements with Donald J. Trump. In some cases, they cite the popular vote difference. I do not think presidents-elect should be disqualified for policy disagreements. I do not think they should be disqualified because they won the Electoral College instead of the popular vote. However, now I am asked to cast a vote on Dec. 19 for someone who shows daily he is not qualified for the office.

Suprun spoke with Roland Martin about his decision to break rank during Thursday’s edition of NewsOne Now.

“He is not a uniter, he is a divider,” Suprun said, adding, “He has a clear conflict of interest financially.”

The Republican elector also cited Trump for showing favoritism by way of his cabinet appointments and explained that Trump is not showing support for hard-working Americans.

Suprun said, “Last night he went after a union boss at the Carrier plant he was supposedly helping and there’s at least 50 Republicans who are national security and foreign policy experts who said during the campaign, ‘He’s completely unqualified and would be a dangerous president.’”

Martin reminded viewers the Electoral College was established “specifically to prevent someone who is wholly unqualified to be President of the United States.”

Suprun hopes to pave the way for other electors to follow suit and “take the right stand, a stand that is not lazy, but is measured and thoughtful and deliberate.”

While expounding upon his reasoning for withholding his electoral vote for Trump and using it to back someone else, Suprun said, “This isn’t about issues, this is about who should be president and do they meet the constitutional test that’s required.”

Calling the Electoral College an “emergency break” he said, “We can stop things from running off the rails with this vote on December 19th.”

President-elect Donald Trump has been taking credit for a deal Carrier Corporation made with Indiana state officials to keep 1,100 manufacturing jobs in the United States. But Chuck Jones, the United Steelworkers Union President, says everything is not as it seems.

Jones, who represents workers at Carrier’s Indianapolis plant, says Carrier informed him that only 730 union jobs would be saved and then accused Trump of “lying his ass off.”

Trump responded to Jones’ accusations via Twitter with the following messages:

Chuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!

During Thursday’s edition of NewsOne Now,Roland Martin and his panel of guests discussed the brewing feud between the nation’s President-elect and union leader Jones.

Martin blasted the seemingly thin-skinned Trump: “This is a grown man who is the President-elect who is engaged in a Twitter tantrum with a worker in Indiana who simply said, ‘Donald Trump was just wrong.’”

He then asked why Trump is attacking the labor leader who is “factually correct.”

Delores Reyes, member of the Central Committee of the Montgomery County Republican Party, said Jones was “out of line” for correcting the number of jobs saved and said “President-elect Trump had the authority to and the know-how to save at least 730 jobs.”

Martin challenged Reyes’ perception of the “authority” Trump currently has, saying the “President-elect has no statutory authority” and reminded his guest the tax incentives provided to Carrier were allocated by the state of Indiana.

“Mike Pence is the head of the economic development group that provided the incentives. That means Trump had no authority. The only person who had the authority to negotiate this deal was Mike Pence––not Donald Trump,” said Martin.

Ray Baker of Ray Baker Media added, “It’s no surprise to any of us that Donald Trump has an antagonistic relationship with union leadership … Donald Trump has been flaking when he was a private businessman on respecting the rights and pay of his workers time and time again.”

Martin added, “Donald Trump is offended that a union guy criticized him and he is acting like a child.”

Watch Roland Martin and the NewsOne Now panel discuss the feud between President-elect Trump and union leader Chuck Jones in the video clip above.

]]>http://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/08/donald-trump-attacks-union-leader-over-carrier-deal-criticism/feed/0redward298Michelle Obama ‘Stands By’ Everything She Said During Election 2016http://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/08/michelle-obama-stands-by-everything-she-said-during-election-2016/
http://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/08/michelle-obama-stands-by-everything-she-said-during-election-2016/#respondThu, 08 Dec 2016 20:09:26 +0000http://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/08/michelle-obama-stands-by-everything-she-said-during-election-2016/]]>In an exclusive PEOPLE Magazine exit interview with the First Couple, Michelle Obama revealed exactly what she did on election night as Donald Trump was being crowned our new Commander-in-Chief.

“I went to bed. I don’t like to watch the political discourse; I never have,” she said. “I barely did with him, referring to her husband, President Barack Obama.

The third wall is slowly starting to unravel as the Obamas’ White House tenure comes to an end and they become more comfortable speaking frankly on topics ranging from politics to race.

But, it was Michelle Obama’s bold assertion of her message while campaigning for Hillary Clinton that truly set the tone for the interview.

Obama used most of the summer to stump for Clinton, even clinching a historic moment at the Democratic National Convention in July. During her formal endorsement speech, Obama’s phrase, “When they go low, we go high“ ramped up momentum for the frequently lambasted Democratic candidate and also strengthened the general public’s opinion of her.

But just as the First Lady campaigned thoroughly for Clinton, she used her platform on multiple occasions to criticize Donald Trump––never actually mentioning his name.

“Anything that I felt about the election I said and I stand by. This is our democracy, and this is how it works,” she said. “We are ready to work with the next administration and make sure they are as successful as they can be. Because that’s what’s best for this country.”

As the emotional testimony from survivors of the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting continues in the Dylann Roof murder trial in South Carolina this week, Meg Kinnard, political and legal affairs reporter for the Associated Press, spoke with Roland Martin on NewsOne Now.

The two discussed the first day of the trial and the “heartbreaking” testimony of Felicia Sanders, one of the three survivors of the mass shooting in June 2015.

“There were a lot of emotions expressed in the courtroom and the jurors were seen dabbing their eyes as they heard it and as they left for break, and we can only imagine there will be more of this to come from other survivors and relatives of those lost,” said Kinnard.

NewsOne Now panelist Farajii Muhammad, Host of Listen Up! said, “It’s just so malicious how he [Dylann Roof] came into the church and it was so cold and so calculated––it’s hard for me to even have a real conversation outside of [the fact that Roof] needs to be sentenced to death because of the nature of the crimes he committed.”

Many are still focused on the possibility of forgiving Roof for the hate-inspired killings, but Muhammad does not share that sentiment. He told viewers, “At this point and time that’s not justice. Our people need justice, those nine families need justice.”

Martin said Roof’s actions were “premeditated, it was planned out [and] it was heinous.”

Ray Baker of Ray Baker Media explained Roof’s defense attorney is using “the guilt phase of this trial to persuade the jury about the penalty phase, where he says such things as, ‘We don’t dispute the facts of the case, what we asked is––is this premeditated?’”

Baker said the defense attorney in the case is attempting to “paint the behavior” of Roof as “so far-reaching, so wild, so unrealistic and incomprehensible that it couldn’t be premeditated––thus it should not result in the death penalty.”

Watch Roland Martin, Meg Kinnard and the NewsOne Now panel discuss the Dylann Roof trial in the video clip above.

]]>http://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/08/should-families-of-emanuel-ame-shooting-victims-forgive-white-supremacist-dylann-roof/feed/0redward298Two Baby Girls Die In Bronx, N.Y., Radiator Explosionhttp://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/07/two-baby-girls-die-in-bronx-n-y-radiator-explosion/
http://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/07/two-baby-girls-die-in-bronx-n-y-radiator-explosion/#respondWed, 07 Dec 2016 22:32:47 +0000http://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/07/two-baby-girls-die-in-bronx-n-y-radiator-explosion/]]>A radiator explosion in a Bronx apartment building burned two little girls to death Wednesday, according to the New York Daily News.

The two girls have been identified as sisters as Scylee Vayoh Ambrose, 1, and Ibanez Ambrose, 2. Neighbors said the family is from Maine and that their apartment is designated for homeless families. The mother plays the guitar and the father does tattoos. Both parents were seen rushing the children outside and trying to revive their lifeless bodies.

“A radiator blew,” an FDNY source said. “It’s very bad.”

Firefighters performed CPR on the children and rushed them to an awaiting ambulance, which rushed them to a nearby hospital. Tragically, the two babies perished from the burns which covered their little bodies.

The News report that according to city records, the building is used as a shelter for homeless families run by the Bushwick Economic Development Corp. Currently, the city’s Department of Homeless Services has five families in the building under its cluster site program, where the city houses families in private sector apartment buildings, paying the rent until the family can find permanent housing.

New York Public Advocate Letitia James released a statement on Monday evening condemning the cluster site program for providing substandard housing to homeless families.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two children who were killed today in the Bronx as a result of an explosion in homeless cluster site housing,” said James. “The cluster site program provides substandard housing to some of the neediest families in New York City, and despite promising to phase out the program, the Administration has instead renewed contracts.

She adds: “It is unforgivable that the City continues to enter into contracts with providers who do not ensure that these apartments are habitable, and today, we witnessed the lethal consequences of this neglect. No funds should be provided to landlords to house homeless families unless full floor-to-ceiling, building-wide inspections are conducted and reveal no hazardous conditions. These inspections must be ongoing and the results made publicly accessible.”

Charlamagne Tha God is one of today’s most recognizable radio stars and often speaks out on racial inequality along with co-hosts Angela Yee and DJ Envy during their highly popular syndicated weekday morning show “The Breakfast Club” on New York’s Power 105.1.

He uses a short segment of the show called “Donkey of The Day” to call out a person or place that embodies foolery for the given moment. Victims have ranged from Ray J to Kanye West.

But on Wednesday, he gave the title to himself. Why you ask? Because he proposed that Black and Latina women should make use of social media outlets in a similar fashion as controversial TheBlaze host, Tomi Lahren.

I guess y'all think tweeting is building your platform and being a voice.

Over the past few days, we’ve watched Charlamagne’s awkward newfound friendship with Lahren bloom. It came as a sort of surprise, especially after Charlamagne dismantled her flawed definition of the Black Lives Matter movement and then after bestowed upon her the title of “Donkey of The Day” earlier this year.

On Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, folks quickly gathered together on social media to point out all of the strong, smart, Black and Latina women who are already filling that void––women like MTV’s Franchesca Ramsey, Crissle West from “The Read,” Jada Gomez of Latina Magazine and Jamilah Lemieux of InteractiveOne, just to name a few.

After his mentions remained on life support, Charlamagne decided it would only be right to take an L in order to clarify his comment.

“I am on the front page of twitter this morning, was trending all last night because women of color collectively came together to slander my Black ass. That’s power,” he said.

In the end, he acknowledged his mistake in dismissing women of color who strive every day to combat systematic racism and acknowledged that those with platforms must help to amplify those voices.

“For all those who don’t feel I conveyed that message properly last night, allow me to give myself the biggest hee-haw,” Charlamagne said near the end.

What do you think? “Donkey of The Day,” or an overreach? Let us know your thoughts.

]]>http://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/07/and-donkey-of-the-day-goes-tocharlamagne-tha-god/feed/0redward298The Danger Of Double Standards In 2016http://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/07/the-danger-of-double-standards-in-2016/
http://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/07/the-danger-of-double-standards-in-2016/#respondWed, 07 Dec 2016 21:23:54 +0000http://chicagodefender.com/2016/12/07/the-danger-of-double-standards-in-2016/]]>“Take care of this house, for this house is the hope of us all.”

The character of Abigail Adams sings these words to a young Black servant named Lud in the Alan Jay Lerner and Leonard Bernstein musical, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The short-lived Broadway production depicted life in the White House since the presidency of John Adams. More than two centuries later, Barack and Michelle Obama moved into that very house, one that slaves helped to build.

It brings me to tears when I stop and think about the magnitude of this man’s accomplishments over the last eight years—and how his exit on January 20, 2017, will leave a hole in America’s soul. The Obamas have honored our country with an unforgettable mixture of intelligence, warmth and resolve.

Although I have a great deal to say about Obama’s accomplishments as president, I want to specifically reflect on his influence on me as a gay Black man. It starts with five magical words.

“This is my husband, Andrew.”

Source: AFP / Getty

If I had my doubts there would be a Black president in my lifetime, I couldn’t even begin to fathom the day when I would be able to utter those words.

Since we met in 1987, Andrew and I had become accustomed to double standards of every kind. Although we were out to friends, family members and work colleagues whom we knew to be accepting, I still practiced evasive techniques with many of my clients.

If I mentioned Andrew’s presence in my life, he was “my friend” Andrew, always hoping no one would ask, “Is he your boyfriend?” More often than not, I would refrain from mentioning him at all. While spouses and significant others often played a role in certain social work-related dinners and functions, I never pressed for Andrew’s inclusion. It never bothered him in the least. It increasingly bothered me.

Andrew and I had a commitment ceremony in 2005, which was an unbelievably moving day for everyone. Again, there were the double standards: we weren’t really “married” but we were forced to accept laws which unfairly limited Andrew’s legal rights. In fact, the laws penalized us for being together. If something happened to me, for example, Andrew would be forced to perform a fire sale of half of the company that I built.

We also had to accept the awkward designation of referring to each other as “my partner.” “Life partner” sounded too soft while “domestic partner” sounded like it could apply to Carol and Alice working together to pack lunches for the Brady kids. “Partner” also created confusion, because I have a business partner named Cory Isaacson, who is married to a woman.

Source: Viviane Moos / Getty

Then came Barack, who recognized that double standards had to be eliminated in order for equality to prevail. During his 2012 re-election campaign, Obama announced that civil unions didn’t nearly dignify the importance of two people who loved each other: he was for gay marriage. Some pundits worried that this could negatively affect him with swing voters. For me, he was saying: “You’re just going to have to live with it or not vote for me.”

As Obama pushed back on double standards, I was inspired to do the same. I started by not hesitating to say, “I have a husband and his name is Andrew.” Soon, I was saying it to anyone at any time.

Once I started to eliminate double standards in my own life, I realized that I couldn’t stop with LGBT issues. Double standards hurt us all and no one should have to tolerate them. When Latinos were unfairly vilified by the now President-elect, I encouraged my staff to address the issue head-on. As an agency, we helped create the “Turn Ignorance Around” campaign for the CHIRLA Action Fund. Some warned me that being so vocal might hurt my business, but I understood that the price of my silence—of our collective silence—on the issue was incalculable.

Given the results of the election, we are going to have to work harder than ever to ensure history points to Barack Obama’s extraordinary accomplishments as a world leader. If he didn’t think he was worthy of the 2009 Nobel Prize, he has more than earned it during his presidency. In that acceptance speech, and in his actions since, he reminds us, “We can acknowledge that oppression will always be with us, and still strive for justice.”

Barack Obama was everybody’s president in the truest sense of the word. His extraordinary eight years lifted us all. That being said, his legacy will always carry a special meaning to anyone who has faced double standards in a society telling them to settle for less.

Aaron Walton is co-founder of Walton Isaacson, “The Planet’s Most Interesting Agency,” which was recently named one of the Inc. 5000 fastest growing private companies in the United States. Walton has been named Advertising Executive of the Year at the Target Market News’ MAAX Awards; he was named to Ebony Magazine’s 2013 “POWER 100” list, and is a member of the OUT 100, a list of the most influential LGBT leaders in America.

After an abysmal 2016 election season, there was one bright spot for Democrats: the state of North Carolina.

Despite all the battleground states won by President-elect Donald Trump, Democrats made gains in North Carolina down-ballot races.

Now that North Carolina will have a Democratic governor and a left-leaning state Supreme Court, political analysts are looking at the state to ascertain why it did not fully get swept up in the Trump mania.

Rev. William Barber, head of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, joined Roland Martin on NewsOne Now to discuss the rise of “Fusion Politics” in the South and how the Moral Monday movement should be duplicated around the country.

Barber explained the multi-racial, multi-denominational coalition created an “indigenously led” movement focused on state legislation composed of individuals who are deeply moral, deeply Constitutional, anti-racist, anti-poverty, pro-justice, and pro-labor.

Barber said “Fusion coalition pulls people together––not so much left and right and red and blue.” The individuals who form the coalition are gathered around “key issues, moral issues that are rooted in constitutional morality and religious morality.

“You have to take on the heresy of White Evangelicalism, you have to find a way to converse with people regardless of party,” Barber said.

Over the course of three years, Rev. Barber and his supporters have brought people from varying backgrounds together “around a five-point agenda [which includes] economics, education, healthcare, environmental justice, criminal justice reform, [and] equal protection under the law.”

How can individuals who seem to be on opposite sides of so many different issues come together to form a sustainable political force? Rev. Barber explained there are three questions central to finding common ground and combining opposing views. They are as follows: Are the policies implemented by elected officials constitutionally consistent, morally defensible, and economically sound?

Barber said, “In doing that, it changed the conversation. People thought we were foolish because we were losing the vote, but we were looking at a long-term, not just a short-term [strategy].”

As a result of building the coalition in North Carolina: “The Governor’s spot was taken by progressives, the AG, the Secretary of State, the Auditor, and a Black brother [Judge Michael Morgan] won a seat on the Supreme Court [by a] 300,000 vote margin … and won 76 counties in North Carolina,” Barber said.

He added, “That’s what we’re going to have to do throughout the country [and] throughout the South.”

Watch Roland Martin and Rev. William Barber discuss the impact “Fusion Politics” has had on North Carolina in the video clip above.